Members of Tijuana’s classical music community knew Maximino Melchor Vázquez as a talented young performer who loved everything from opera to traditional Mexican songs.

But there was something they did not know about the 23-year-old tenor: He also smuggled drugs across the border.

Nearly two months after he was caught near Camp Pendleton driving a car with 44 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, the Tijuana resident on Friday pleaded guilty to drug-trafficking charges in San Diego Superior Court.

“Good luck, sir,” said Judge Dwayne Moring after he imposed a nine-year sentence.

Melchor, a Mexican citizen, will serve at least 4½ years behind bars. Had the case gone to trial, he would have faced up to 14 years in prison.

Friends said Melchor, an engineering graduate, had been focusing on his music and received invitations to sing on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. He earned money by singing at Masses and teaching voice lessons. He dreamed of studying French. As a member of the Tijuana musical ensemble Opera Ambulante, he traveled to Canada in September at the invitation of the Mexican government.

Just three days after the group’s return to Tijuana, on Sept. 19, Melchor was pulled over while driving north near the Las Pulgas Road exit. He was arrested by sheriff’s deputies who were part of a multi-agency task force targeting drug traffickers in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The amount of drugs seized from his vehicle would have commanded a street value of $340,000 to $500,000, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

On Friday, Melchor was accompanied by an interpreter and his attorney as he stood before Moring in handcuffs and a tan prison uniform. He admitted to possession and transportation of methamphetamine.

During the hearing, there was no discussion of the arrest and no explanation of how someone with a promising future in music became involved in taking drugs across the border.

“To be quite candid … he was a drug trafficker,” state prosecutor Matthew Tag said outside the courtroom. “Whether he sings on the side, that’s his prerogative.”

Melchor’s defense attorney, John Rodriguez, declined to discuss specifics of the case. He did say his client had been transporting the drugs under duress.

“I think what’s going on in Mexico is that they’re identifying people who come across the border,” Rodriguez said. “He was propositioned in a way that it would put everybody at risk if he simply walked away.”

Melchor “really didn’t know what was in the car,” Rodriguez added. “It could have been a bag of marijuana or it could have been 20 kilos of methamphetamine. … He just had to do what he was told, or harm would definitely come to him physically.”

Rodriguez also said Melchor “is terrified that if he fights the case, his family will be harmed.” It was unclear whether Melchor had received payment for his trafficking.

Members of Tijuana’s music community reacted in disbelief Friday. They have been holding fundraisers on his behalf and still intend to stage a Dec. 14 concert for that purpose.

“His attorneys have to be paid, we know that Maximino is in need,” said Mario Montenegro, the musical director of Opera Ambulante. “We cannot abandon him there.”